Falling Leaves
by Lore55
Summary: They say that the beat of a butterflies wings can start a hurricane. She was no butterfly, she was trapped on the ground, never able to take off. Until fate threw a wrench in her well planned future. Now a leaf, tossed in the wind, might draw the eyes of those in this new life. The question is, is that a good thing? SI, reincarnation, you know the drill.
1. If you asked

**New story, new character. Typical SI reincarnation fic.**

**I don't own anything.**

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><p>If you were to ask someone about the little girl who lived on end of the street they would tell you she was an odd child, then cluck their tongues and turn away, murmuring about 'the poor thing' and going on to talk; "this is what happened when you married a someone like <em>him<em>." "The poor thing, all alone like that. Someone really should go and bring her a proper meal." Nothing would be done, of course, it wasn't _their_ problem after all. And little Asuka Suzuki, who would more likely than not be elsewhere, would be none the wiser to the transaction.

Her behavior was marked up as a side effect of her upbringing, with an absent father that spared her few glances and an absent mother that hadn't looked at the girl in years. So excuses were made, excuses for why the girl with green eyes always looked like she knew something. Reasons that a switch could flick and the childish grin would be replaced a look that was more predator than person. Reasons that the girls calculating gaze, switched quickly for one of innocents, might cause such anxiety.

Reasons that a child only acted her age.

If you were to ask Asuka she would reply with something flat, or innocent, or sarcastic, all depending on her mood. And green eyes were look up at you with such clarity that it was sure that she had to be only what she appeared.

Behind closed doors and deep in the woods, however, lay the truth. Bloodied knuckles and micro-fractures, notes written in foreign ciphers and half completed drawings that held no visible meaning. Determination burned brightly in those dark places, hidden from prying eyes and gossiping house hens. An unbreakable will shone deep in her heart, and effort was seen in cracked trees and broken mannequins.

Green eyes glowed with the desire to grow, to strengthen, to _surpass_.

And none knew why, or even noticed, because who would see the little girl at the end of the street for anything more than what they wanted to see, a reason and an example.

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><p><em> "Which alternative is worse, I wonder?" she said. "To deny death and thus risk never being wholly alive, or to face oblivion squarely and risk paralysis by dread?"<em>

James K. Morrow, in _The Philosopher's Apprentice_


	2. Into the World

I came into this world the same way that everyone does. Naked, covered in blood, screaming my lungs out.

You did it too, so did you mom, you're dad, and your first grade teacher. Who wouldn't scream when they were suddenly ripped out of what was basically nine months sensory deprivation and thrown headlong (hopefully) into the cold, bright, _loud_ world outside?

Not that any of you want to remember that. Truthfully I don't either, so I've done my best to push those frantic, terrified memories from my mind. Now the question might arise that asks how, exactly, I do remember that time. It wasn't as if any normal persons long term memory reached back to infancy, right?

I am sad to inform you that you are right, no normal persons does. To my displeasure I am not what is commonly referred to as a normal person. Because normal people don't remember as far back as their birth, they certainly don't remember their time in utero, and the absolutely, definitely _do not_ remember further back than that.

And yes, there is definitely further back than that. For me, at least, there is.

Before the two years of next-to-zero motor function and complete inability to fend off the attacks of affection from my current father, Akio Suzuki, and my only mother, Shiori Suzuki I was not Asuka Suzuki. I wouldn't bother you with the details of who I used to be if I didn't think it was relevant to the story I'm about to tell you.

My name isn't important, though for those of you curious enough to know it was Laura. My old dad was an ex-marine, my mom was a victim of an unknown allergy to the anesthetic they used during my birth. As for me, I was an engineer. I worked for NASA.

I'm sure you think I exaggerate, but truthfully I did. It took me about ten years in college and a lot longer to actually get in, so by the time I had a secure place on their payroll I was nearly thirty. I may have been smart, but I wasn't smart enough to enter NASA before twenty five. By the time my death rolled around I was thirty seven, with a guilty pleasure that stemmed from the place as my desire to join the space program. Mobile Suit Gundam.

Go ahead, you can laugh. Actually writing this all down I know I am, but that show was my life as a kid. I wouldn't have seen it, as it was years from being put in English back then, if it wasn't for my neighbor, who had moved in from Japan shortly after it was released. Our friendship was a struggle, with his broken English and my lack of knowledge on Japanese half our time was spent playing charades. Eventually though we both learned enough of each other's language for casual conversation and I was introduced to anime.

Being the geek that I was my love of it stayed with me throughout my childhood, onto my teenage years and well into adulthood. It was a good escape, with dramatic characters and crazy fights that could never really happen. My favorite was a long running show centered around an orange wearing ninja. I'm sure your know it.

Anyways, I was smart, grew up with my dad, and worked for NASA. Life was pretty good, great, in fact, until the day I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Long story short; A bank robbery went wrong when I was making a with drawl, I got shot, the world goes black, and the next thing I know I'm surrounded by some sort of warmth.

Why am I boring you with the details of my life? Why should you care?

_Because I was rocket scientist stuck in a place without space travel, that's why._

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><p>I try not to think too much about the time when I was an infinite, simply because it was horribly, awfully, unbearably <em>boring<em>. I couldn't move properly, couldn't stand, couldn't control anything about myself or the world around me. When I needed something I could not get it, or even ask for it. I had to cry and hope someone understood what I required. My mother was saint, and sometimes I thought her a mind reader as well.

Whenever the little wails would be emitted from my mouth she would hurry over from where she was in our cozy little house, scoop me into her arms and run a methodical check to see if I needed food, changing, or if I was simply lonely, which was the case often enough it's rather sad.

I've never dealt with being on my own well, especially when I couldn't even occupy myself. Needless to say I started reading as soon as possible.

Akio Suzuki was a tall man, with loose blond hair a few shades from red and deep-set brown eyes. His jaw was strong, his nose proudly arched and his lips always lifted with a smile. Somehow he felt bigger, more, than my mother, as if he were more energetic than my mother, for all he did not have her energy by the time he got home. (I would later learn that the energy I felt from him was chakra.)

He would come home at odd times, stay for hours or days or even weeks before leaving, for hours, days, or weeks. I could find no pattern in his work schedule, but when the door opened and he walked in, looking world weary and battered, I would crawl, and latter toddle over to him, grab his pant leg and give him a toothless smile.

The age seemed to melt away and he would smile like the sun and pick me up, toss me into the air and laugh.

My mother never seemed to fear for my safety when I was off the ground, out of his arms, and one day I discovered why.

I was three years old, reading a book on the floor of the living room when my father came in, just like always. Except this time he wasn't alone.

I was never sure why, but my mother did not take me with her when she went shopping, in fact my access to the outside world was limited to out fenced in, tree surrounded backyard. Whenever she went shopping I would be left with my fifteen year old neighbor, who smoked more than anyone ever should.

The extra pair of weird shoes that accompanied my fathers were noted, and I had to grin in excitement. I always loved to meet new people, expand my horizons and learn more about the world I lived in (It didn't take a genius to see that this was not the world I had been born in last time). I couldn't see the person themselves, as I was on the other side of the couch, but I leapt to my feet and ran as fast as my short legs could carry me around the obstacle, giving a joyous shout of greeting to my father. I hit his leg, which was confusing as he normally lifted me before I made contact.

There was a chuckle from above and I looked up at him from under short black bangs, smiling happily. Until I noticed the white bandages wrapped around his head, the dilation of his pupils and the fact that he was leaning heavily on another person.

My tony face creased with my worry and Akio crouched down and pulled me into a hug, standing straight up again with only a little wobble. Even his normal energy was low, faded. I was frightened.

"Sunshine," he greeted, kissing my forehead. "You're dad got a little banged up at work today, so he can't play tonight. Sorry."

He really was too, I could see it in his eyes as I sat in his arms. He wanted to play with me, but he had been injured. Work. What was his work, that required funny looking sandals and cause the familiar visage of a soldier?

A sound from the right reminded me of the visitor's presence and I turned to see who it was that had brought my dad home to me. I also got my answer.

Silver hair and a single black eye met my sight before my eyes rolled back and I promptly passed out.

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><p>Kakashi Hatake was no where to be found when I woke up again, in my bed instead of my dads arms. I slipped out from under my generic purple bed sheets and padded into the hallway, finding that the house was dark and quiet. My socks slipped on the hardwood floor a couple of times before I reached my parents room. The ticking clock in the hallways told me it was very early in the morning, almost half past two.<p>

My parents were sleeping peacefully when I walked in, my dad only turning over. I assumed he had woken briefly, realized it was me and gone back to sleep. My mother lay with her back to him, facing the window, and I had to go all the way around the bed to reach her, not wanting to bother my sleeping father.

I stopped and stared at her for a few minutes, the moon glowing at my back.

Shiori was a truly beautiful woman when she was awake, bright and full of life and love. It was easy to see why dad married her. Her hair was soft, shining black, her eyes a green as mint leaves. Her nose was small and her skin smooth, jaw straight and brows forever arching. When she smiled it lit her entire face, and while her praise was not given lightly it was sincere when it was.

I hoped to one day look like her, and possibly learn to cook just as well.

In the moon light though she looked somehow smaller, shrunken in and fragile. Perhaps it was because her energy, which by then I had assumed was chakra, was so small. Perhaps it was because she had asthma. I was never really sure, but that night when I crawled into bed with her and curled into the soft curve of her body a feeling of foreboding touching down on my chest.

My perfect, happy life had just ended, and the hardship was about to begin.

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><p>It was a few months later, after I had explained that Kakashi had felt too big to be around(something that completely confused poor Shiori and brought a strange gleam to my fathers eye) that my parents sat me down in front of the couch, looking at each other. They appeared almost nervous, for what reason I couldn't be sure.<p>

"Asuka," my father began slowly, waiting until I had stopped rolling my plastic bracelet around, "You mother and I, well, that is to say you're moth is- You're going to have- um."

"I'm going to have a baby," mother blurted, one hand on her stomach. I looked between the two of them, tilting my head to the side. Was I supposed to be confused? Angry? Jealous? I was none of those, in fact I was ecstatic.

A grin blossomed on my face and I jumped up to wrap my arms around my mother's neck.

"That's great! I'll have someone to play with! Is it gonna be a boy or a girl? What are we gonna call them? Do I have to share my room or will they have their own?" questions bubbled out of my mouth in a continuous stream and my parents held onto me, laughing in relief. Weren't they lucky to have such a good daughter?

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><p>It was around the same time that Shiori's first trimester ended that Akio pulled me away to their room and set me on the bed. He opened the table beside it, pulling out a cloth headband with a metal plate attached to it. It was held out to me and I gingerly took it, carefully tracing the design engraved on it. Green met brown and I made a questioning noise.<p>

"That's the symbol of the Leaf Village, Asuka," he explained, crouching in front of me, "That headband is given to all the ninja that risk their lives to protect the village, like me and Kakashi. It's very important, and it will always be worn by the people who serve the village. Do you understand?"

I nodded slowly, placing the headband in my lap and watching my father carefully. What was he getting at?

"Would you like to be a ninja?"

"I-," I cut myself off, frowning. Did I? Being a ninja was dangerous, it could easily get you killed. On the other hand being a civilian when there were wars and invasions coming was just as worrisome. If something happened I wanted to be able to protect myself, and my mother.

"I want to be a ninja," I told him firmly, jaw set in what would become a familiar stubborn line.

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><p>Not a week after my declaration I was at the hospital with a medical ninja looking me over, his face grim set. I didn't like the look of it, it made my nerves start to fire and my stomach start to twist. Akio was called into the hallway, away from me and he and the doctor had a hushed conversation before my father gave a shout of denial. He was hushed quickly, and all I could do was swing my legs and wait. Breathing was getting hard, my heart was pumping funnily.<p>

The door opened and I looked up, finding a frusterated, angry, frightened looking father standing there with a solemn medic. I looked up at them, hands clasped tightly in front of me as I waited for the verdict.

It was the doctor that spoke up. "I know this might be hard to hear, but please listen. You're chakra sensitive, which can sometimes make it hard to be a ninja. That would be something you could have worked around. But…."

"But?" I prompted quietly.

"Asuka," there was my father, "There's a hole in your heart. You can't become a ninja."

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><p><em>The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart. Robert Green Ingersoll<em>


	3. First Friend

I should have been happy, should have been thrilled, but I wasn't. In fact I was downright terrified the more I thought about life as a civilian. Civilians were weak, defenseless, and completely helpless to the goings on of shinobi. And the future was going to be dangerous. Invasions, attacks and the Fourth Great War, I needed to be able to protect myself no matter what. To quote Toby Mac; (That) ain't no trouble overseas, no Vietnam. If I couldn't fight for myself I was completely screwed.

So what does someone do when your life depends on becoming a ninja and you can't do that?

I didn't come to a conclusion right away, matter of fact it took me almost a month to decide that I what I was going to do.

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><p>In the month after the discovery things changed. My father stopped smiling at just the sight of me, in fact whenever our eyes met I swear he would flinch. There were no more trips into the air, no more lighting up in his eyes or laughter at my occasional stumbles. He was withdrawing, I realized, and that was my first clue to the severity of my situation.<p>

My mother was the exact opposite. She started smothering me, constant attention and almost constant crying. For all her clinging her eyes were duller, the lines in her face deeper and her shoulders more tense. I was starting to worry she would develop prenatal depression.

Their behavior wormed its way under my skin, combined with my near constant confinement to the house I was steadily growing more and more restless, closer to an explosion. I wasn't even allowed to play outside in case it caused further damage to my heart. Eventually my emotional capacity reached its limit and I did what anyone in my situation would do. I ran away.

It wasn't dramatic, there were no slamming doors or screaming at my parents for changing, not even any tears. There was literal running though, down the walkway to the sidewalk and beyond. I just ran, as fast as I could as the sun started to set and my mother did the dishes. Akio was somewhere else, probably on a mission somewhere. By then I didn't even care.

I needed a break, somewhere to go, to think where no one would be watching and if needed I could have a good, long breakdown.

My neighborhood did not fit this criteria, and so was left far behind.

I don't know if I've already mentioned this, but I didn't get out much. Mother did not like taking me shopping, father was too tired to take me anywhere if he wanted to, and so my entire world was compounded into my house, back yard, and on special occasions the cul-de-sac. This meant that I had no idea how to navigate the rest of the village. I didn't know where anything was, where anyone lived, I didn't really care when I was sprinting down the street.

Hey, I never claimed to think things through.

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><p>Somehow in my run I ended up at a large park, green grass as far as could be seen and a swing set off to the side. It was just like the parks I used to go to Before, excluding the multitude of trees that surround and cut through it. I wasn't the only child there, though it appeared I was the only one just arriving. Most were busy finishing games, parents watching with weary eyes from benches on all sides and the cement pathway that wound through the grass.<p>

It was the swings I made my way to, avoiding rushing games of tag and hoping over ill hidden hide-and-seekers. There was only one other person seated on the swings, a head of spiky blond hair bowed. I caught bright eyes staring out from under bangs, and a scan of the parents around revealed that most eyes were either directly on the boy or pointed directly away.

For a brief moment my feet tried to lead me away, to follow my peers (however unknown they were) in social ostracization of the boy. That urge was quickly crushed and I made my way to the swings, plopping down in the one next to the little boy. His head snapped up, blue eyes locking on me. I didn't look back, instead focusing on getting the swing moving.

This was the first time my new body had been in on, and it was unused to attempting to get it moving. Lucky for me swings were my favorite thing in the world in my last childhood, so memory trumped physical experience and I started swinging steadily, back and forth. The seat itself was wood, which was weird, the ties actual rope instead of chain.

I pumped my legs and flung my back back, steadily growing higher and passing the familiar little boy, still staring. Once I wasn't in danger of loosing altitude if I paused I turned my head to look at him, black hair whipping into my eyes.

"How come you aren't swinging?" I asked, and felt my heart hurt at the surprise he displayed at being addressed. He lowered his eyes quickly, looking almost shy. I had to fight not to jump off and hug him right then. Adorable boy.

"I, um, I dunno how," he mumbled. I really did jump off then, horrified at the revelation. Jump is a bad word, I actually hit the ground and ran forwards to avoid hitting the dirt worn down by years of children's feet. I spun on my heel and marched right over to the little blond, who was staring with wide eyes.

"I'll push you," I declared, leaving no room for argument as I walked behind him. He tried to turn to watch me but I shook my head. "Face forwards or you'll fall."

He quickly did and I grabbed the ropes, using all the strength in my three year old arms to haul his swing back and let go. He swung forwards before coming back, and I gave him a hard push that almost sent him out of his seat.

"Hey!" he yelped, sounding a little bit frightened.

"Just hold on and don't let your back move," I instructed. When I pushed him the next time he had braced himself and it worked much better than the previous attempt. I kept going, getting him higher until I was jumping up to get to his back and riding his shoulders down.

Eventually he forgot his grip, and when next I tried to rise with his shoulders the both of us were sent tumbling to the ground, him on top of me with an elbow in my gut. He yelped, I choked and when I tried to pull back the swing hit my head.

Unwanted tears sprung to my eyes and I sat back, gripping my head. Frustration curled in my stomach, more from the tears themselves instead of the sharp pain in my head. Crying over such a small thing was stupid and useless, I knew that which only made it worse.

My companion started panicking, frantically apologizing and begging me not to die or go away, crying now himself and proclaiming how sorry he was.

I sat back, eyes still stinging and tears slipping out. My hand hit the top of his head without painful force and he looked up, lips quivering. Two three year olds in a panicked crying mess, sitting under a jerking swing while parents started dragging their children away, whispering and glaring at the boy in front of me. My lips curled into a smile and I patted his head.

"Don't worry, I'm okay. It just hurt is all," I explained, and he started to calm. My head still hurt but I was going to be fine, it was the adult knowledge that a child's skull is more unsealed sutures than actual bone, and that I wouldn't have permanent damage that helped me end my tears a few moments later, wiping them away with the back of my sleeve.

His mouth opened to say something, but before he could I jerked and a set up feet appeared beside us. My head snapped up to find a mask, a second appearing beside the first. Little fox boy didn't seem horribly surprised, scrambling to his feet while I stared wide eyed up at the two familiar masks. I pointed to the Hound, silver hair spiking wildly.

"You're the static man!" I proclaimed, getting no actual reaction. I could feel who it was even if I couldn't see him, or if I hadn't known who he was beforehand. He felt like electricity, like the static that tugs the hair on your arms up when you dragged your socks across carpet, or when lightning was about to strike and the energy charged the air. That was him, his energy larger than my fathers, leagues outside of my mother, and myself as well.

The Cat, I think it was supposed to be a cat anyways, with more color in his mask, tilted his head in silent question. I knew who he was, and filed away the feel of him for later. It's difficult to explain in words, but he felt like standing in the middle of trees, dwarfing you and towering high above your head. The feeling of possibility, and life.

The ANBU said nothing, but with a flick of the wrist the blond boy walked over to Hounds side, looking at me.

"Um, I need to go," he stated, looking so sad it broke my heart.

I gave him a grin. "That's okay. We'll play again some other tie!" I decided then that I would stick with this boy, whether my parents allowed it or not.

Blue eyes grew wide before a smile brighter than the sun spread across his face. "Yeah! We can play ninja then!" seeming to realize that I might not want to play ninja he backtracked. "If you wanna, I mean."

"Of course I do. Ninja are awesome," I stated, and watched the boy node sagely in agreement. "I don't actually know your name," I realized, and stepped forwards to shove my hand in front of his face. "I'm Asuka Suzuki. Who're you?"

That seemed to give him pause, as if he didn't want to tell me. Thinking about it I didn't blame him for not wishing to disclose such information. At last he took my hand. "I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki."

His voice a mumble but I made no move to get away, displayed no surprise. "Naruto," I repeated. "Okay, my first friends name is Naruto!''

"We're friends now?" he squeaked, looking terribly hopeful. It hurt my heart.

"Of course we are!" my smile did not falter, and his face glowed with happiness. He left with the two ANBU, a skip in his step, radiating joy. It made my chest warm to know that I had caused it, and I waited until he was gone before I turned around to go home.

The problem was, I had no idea where home was.

"…shit."

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><p>I spent almost three hours wandering around the village, struggling to find something that looked like it might have been close to my home. I didn't find anything, and it was starting to frighten me. On the up side as night fell I had a lot to think about. About the future, and other reasons to be a ninja aside from my own selfish desire to make it in this world. I wanted to keep that little boy smiling, forever if I could, a goal that I could not achieve if I was bound by the limitations of a civilian.<p>

The stars shone above my head and I came to a stop in the empty street, looking up to meet the stone gaze of four hokage. To protect my friends smile, to protect my own life, I needed to be stronger, faster, more than what I was then.

My eyes slid further up, past the rock and to the clear, inky blackness that was pierced with lights. If I wanted to touch the stars I would have to learn to fly. To leave the ground. To become something better than what I was then, and what I had been before.

My hand curled into a first and I started walking, aiming for the ninja's tower to get someone to take me home. I knew what I had to do, and in the shadows of the night I made my decision, vowed to myself to join and surpass my father.

What do you do when your life depends on becoming a ninja and you can't?

You do it anyways.

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><p><em>Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you. -Denis Waitley <em>


	4. Second Meeting

**Chapter4 at last! Little short, sorry guys.**

**Littlebirdd: I'll get more into what her heart does later on but know that all that I have in here about it I learned from my grandfather, who had the same problem as a child so hopefully no one jumps at me for medical inaccuracies or supposed impossibilities or anything like that.**

**Canori: Thank you for the defense. **

**EMSNaruto: I appreciate the feedback, and I'll take care of Naruto so don't worry too much. There are no pairings right now as they are tiny children. I'll probably open a poll or something later on to see what the final pairings are going to be but for now there's nothing definite.**

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><p>To say that my parents were furious when Genma finally escorted me back to my home would be an understatement. My father seemed to have been on the verge of a panic attack and my mother had been in hysterics. I felt guilty but I was too pleased with myself to let it really get to me. I had a friend, and that friend was one of the cutest balls of sunshine to ever grace the planet with his smile.<p>

I didn't see him again for a long time, seeing as I was grounded 'for the rest of (my) life!' which ended up only meaning a couple of months. In that time /I revealed my plans to go on and be a ninja. I could see the pain in my father's expression as he tried to explain why I couldn't. It only grew when I informed him that it didn't matter and that I would be a ninja anyway.

Really, I didn't have a choice. If I wanted to live and wanted to be able to have an effect on the world then I needed to be a ninja, I wasn't going to die so easy again and it wasn't going to be in such a sad manner. I was going to life again.

And I wasn't just going to be a ninja either, it seemed. In the time I was confined to my house the microwave broke. Akio had to pull it down and set it on the floor before he went to try and find someone who could fix it. Turns out he left them behind with his napping wife.

While she was asleep I had free reign of the house, and found the broken microwave sitting on the floor. I took a look at it, a model that was very basic as far as I was concerned, before going off to find the tool box that was kept under the sink. I dragged it out with weak child arms and flipped it open, selecting the screw driver and starting to take the appliance apart.

Oddly enough there was a gap in the lower right hand corner. The problem was actually very simple. One of the wires inside had been chewed through, and under it was the corpse of the poor rodent. Upon closer inspection I realized the gap was a place where the metal had been rusted through, matching up with a wet spot on the wall.

I fixed it using wire strippers and insulated tape.

When Akio returned I hid away and let him find the microwave exactly as he hand left it before I wandered out of my room and asked for chicken nuggets. He told me the microwave was broken and I told him it wasn't and to prove it. When he tried it worked and I smiled to myself, quite proud. My father sent me an odd look before getting my lunch.

I only smiled at him innocently. I hadn't lost my touch.

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><p>When not helping my mother around the house and watching her steadily growing stomach I spent time writing. As far as my parents were concerned it was just a little girl scribbling on paper in what looked vaguely like writing.<p>

I wrote in English, of course, jotting down everything I knew from the plot of the show. There wasn't a whole awful lot, it was mostly events, ages and a very basic time line, with little scribbles of pictures here and there, not all of them recognizable thanks to the sharp edged I used. I can't do loops and curls very well, everything I write or draw looks more like a blueprint than anything else.

I was recording everything I could remember as quickly as I could before I forgot or the knowledge was replaced by new information. I went through every scrap of paper in the house and pitched a bit when ever someone tried to throw something out. I kept the ever growing stack of papers shoved into what was supposed to be a toy box. It ended up being a box of papers, sorted into categories and subcategories.

It looked horrific and messy but I knew where everything was.

I also started gathering up loose electronic ends I found, batteries and wires, light bulbs and, of all things, floppy disks. Floppy disks! My family didn't even have a computer.

This world was so weird.

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><p>I was finally free from my home and decided I was going to run again. If I was going to become a ninja I needed to be in shape. I also needed to know how far I could go before my heart started giving me trouble, if it did. I was still struggling to understand exactly what was going on with it. I was not a doctor after all. Not one of medicine at least.<p>

I ran down the sidewalk and into town, short legs pushing me across the ground quickly. I went back to the park, having an idea of where I was this time, and found no one of significance there to talk to. I kept running.

I passed a shopping district full of vendors, food, and clothes before moving on and finding the ninja academy. Around then I was starting to beat heavily and my heart was thudding loudly. I wasn't sure if it was because of the hole or the fact that I had been going for a long time.

I spun around the corner and collided with something much bigger than I was.

My tailbone hit the hard dirt and I yelped in surprise, stirring up a small cloud of dust. I whined and looked up mouth moving before my eyes processed the ridiculous hat my offender wore.

"Hey! That was mean!" I cried, frowning up at man. He was taller than me by far, with grey hair and a point beard the same color he towered above me in red and white robes. I blinked once. Twice. Thrice.

That was the Hokage.

"Asuka!" a familiar voice called. I looked to the side, finding a blond boy standing next to the old man in a black T-shirt and cargo pants. I stood up, brushing off my pink shirt and leggings and trying to get the dirt off the tail of my yellow shirt. As I did I smiled brightly.

"Hi Naruto!" I chirped, bouncing over to him. The Hokage was watching us, a brow raised. I ignored him, his presence forgotten in favor of my friend's.

Natuto smiled at me before it fell and he started pouting at me. "You said we would play again! I thought we were gonna play ninja," there was a distinct whine in his tone.

"We can," I promised immediately. "I got in trouble and couldn't come out to play for a really long time and it was _so boring_," I drew the last two words out dramatically and let my head fall forwards. "So boring."

I looked up at he was still pouting but I could see it wavering. I smiled and reached out, clapping my palms on either side of his face and squishing his cheeks together. He made a startled sound and I pushed them back again.

"I'm sorry," I told him sincerely, "Please don't be sad. You should smile!" I dropped my hands and poked him in the stomach, startling a laugh out of him. "Or I'll tickle you until you pee yourself."

Blue eyes widened in horror. "No!" he cried, and I laughed. He was adorable. It was only when I realized I wasn't the only one laughing that I remembered the old man was still there. I looked up at him and he looked down at me, eyes shining in mirth.

"Who're you?" I asked, rather rudely I might add. What can I say, I didn't like the guy much.

"I'm Hiruzen Sarutobi," he told me, "Who are you?"

I studied him before stepping back and behind Naruto. "My mommy told me not to talk to weird old men," I informed him, watching him choke in surprise.

"He's not weird!" Naruto objected, "He's the Hokage!" He shouted, trying to look at me over his shoulder. I didn't let him ducking out of his line of sight and giggling quietly. I looked up at the Hokage from under my lashes before deciding to stop playing with him.

"I'm Asuka Suzuki. If you're the Hokage then you're a ninja right?" I asked, curious. Hiruzen Sarutobi was huge in terms of chakra, dwarfing anyone else I had yet met with the warmth of a star.

The old man nodded. "That's right."

"Then you know my dad," I concluded, "He's real strong."

"Oh?" the man sounded amused.

"Uh huh, he'd the best ninja ever."

My declaration was met with objection. "Nu uh, the Fourth Hokage was the best," Naruto insisted. I shook my head.

"Nope, my dad is better," a lie, but a child's lie.

"Nu uh!" Naruto argued.

"Yeah huh!" Was my intellectual response.

"Nu uh!"  
>"Yeah huh!"<p>

"Nu uh!"  
>"Yeah huh!"<p>

"Nu uh!"  
>"Yeah huh!"<p>

"Nu uh!"

"Nu uh!"

"Yeah huh!"

"Nu uh!"

"Yeah huh!"

"Nu uh!"  
>"Yeah huh!"<p>

"Nu uh!"  
>"Yeah huh!"<p>

"Nu uh!"  
>"Yeah huh!"<p>

"Nu uh!"  
>"Yeah huh!"<p>

"Nu uh!"

"Nu uh!"

"Yeah huh!"

"See I told you!" I shouted in triumph, leaping back and pointing to his face.

Naruto stared at me wide eyed, surprised and confused. "What?" he asked, face crumpling in bewilderment.

"You said Yeah huh so you agreed with me so I must be right!" I rushed out.

"No You didn't," he argued.

"Yes I did," I insisted.

It started again, the Hokage watching us, laughing under his breath. I pulled two more Bugs Bunny's before Naruto finally gave up, looking mad and walking away.

I just smiled after him.

"So, Asuka," the Hokage drew my attention back to him and I blinked up at him innocently.

"Ah?" I hummed, curious.

"Are you going to be a ninja like your father?" he questioned. My face lit up like a candle.

"Yeah! I want to be the best kunoi- kunai- kunoibi- ninja ever," I managed to recover, "I'll work real hard and be able to help mommy and protect my baby sister. Or brother," I was smiling in childlike innocence, rocking my heels and letting my arms float at my sides,. "Dad doesn't want me to be though, cause there's a hole in my heart and he thinks it'll hurt me. But it'll hurt worse if something icky happens and I can't do anything."

The Hokage was watching me with an expression I couldn't read. I watched him, a little nervous before he smiled again. "I'm sure you'll make a fine ninja. Now," his voice raised, carrying to Naruto, "Why don't you two go a play?"

* * *

><p>When I came home that night I was dirty but smiling happily. My chest hurt, it was hard to breath, and I'd been a dizzy a few times during Naruto and I's games but other than that I was fine. This time I had told them where I was going and had been allowed out on my own, which was weird. Apparently people here didn't have as much restrictions on letting children wander around as they did where I was from.<p>

"I'm home!" I called out, walking into the living room. My parents would normally be in there, reading or watching TV, but now they were nowhere to be found. I frowned and left there, going to the dining room, the kitchen, my room and theirs.

No one was home, and I was starting to worry when there was a knock on the door. I jogged down the steps, tripping down the last three and yanked the door open. I had no fear, recognizing the person on the other side even before I pulled it open.

"Static man!" I greeted, looking up at the masked face of the copy-ninja. A single black eye met mine, curling up with a smile.

"Asuka," he greeted, "You're mother is having the baby early. I'm going to take you to the hospital okay?"

I nodded in agreement, seeing nothing wrong. Babies were born early all the time.

"Okay!"

Except it wasn't and it wouldn't be.

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><p>Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering. - Theodore Roosevelt<p> 


	5. Too Early

The hospital room was loud with shouting and machine noise, beeps and clanks and the whoosh of air tubes. A man and his daughter were hustled out of the room as a flat line shrieked into existence and the woman on the table was transferred to an emergency surgery cart, one medic pumping her heart manually.

The man, a ninja by his clothes and bearing, tried to follow but was cut off, his little girl having more luck. She sprinted down the hall, past doctors and chased the cart that held her mother, terror in her eyes.

The surgery room doors burst open and she stumbled in messily, getting snatched up almost immediately at the shout of 'get the girl out of here!' and yanked out of the room. None of this was fast enough to keep her from spotting, with horror, the blood or hearing the screams of the woman who was her mother before they cut off.

Before she was gone and shoved back into her father's arms she caught a glimpse of her mother, pale as death, covered in blood. A still babe was in the arms of one of the doctors and the defibrillators slammed into the woman's chest, sending her body into levitation.

The doors shut, the heart monitor beeped, and a week later a casket too small for anyone's comfort was lowered into the ground.

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><p><em>If every tear we shed for you became a star above, you'd stroll in Angel's garden, lit by everlasting love. -Author unknown<em>


	6. School Days

**Chapter 6 now. **

**I own nothing. **

**Feedback is welcome.**

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><p>I was not an older sister, as I had been preparing to be, hoping to be. I had no little brother to tease or little sister to fight with. I would always be an only child. It was, in a word devastating.<p>

When the doctors came out with the news, I ran.

I kept running too, every day, until I had collapsed on the ground, vision lost with the dizziness it caused and heart struggling to beat in my chest. For years I ran as fast as I could for as long as I could, pushing myself further and faster each time and slowly increasing my physical ability.

When I started the academy I was the very bottom of the class. I was, simply put, the weakest of the bunch. I made up for the weakness in my body with the strength of my mind, asking constant questions in my attempt to understand chakra. It just didn't make sense. Most kids just took the information and ran with it, I wanted more.

I got kicked out of several classes for pestering my teachers with the constant, 'Okay, but why?'s. It was at my first teachers request that I be moved to another class.

It was at my request that I move a different one from that.

Iruka was the first teacher that took my quizzical self seriously and listened when I stayed in from recess, trying to understand in the most detail possible how everything worked. He was the only one to simply tell me that no one knew everything about chakra, and that very few people could answer the questions I was asking.

I was the only one who sat by Naruto, helping him with his work and explaining things when he didn't understand it at first. He wasn't nearly as dumb as people seemed to think he was, he just needed more one on one time than lectures provided and more stimulation than just talking about something would give him.

I was pretty sure he should have been on Adderall or Riddlin.

He was the only friend I had there at first, that changed quickly as with him came the trouble of Choji, Shikamaru and Kiba. They ditched most of the classes, sneaking off and causing trouble for anyone and everyone there was. More often than not I was dragged with them despite that fact that I wanted to learn what Iruka had to teach.

I can't even tell you how many hours I spent in detention.

I couldn't even be in the same detention as the others due to my after school 'Kunoichi' classes. I found them to be as interesting as dirt. All that came of them was knowing what flowers could kill a man and which classmates I wanted to give them to.

The only person I even spoke to there was little Hinata Hyuga, who was the most adorable little girl I'd ever seen. She was sweet, if shy and busy with her family trying to train her for her future. She came to school with more bruises than anyone I'd ever seen. It was concerning, but she promised me it was only so that she could become stronger. Which gave me an idea.

Since I was so terrifically terrible at taijutsu I asked if she could help me get better. Since she had little time I also suggested something that was proof of how awful an influence boys are.

We started ditching Kunoichi classes.

Hinata was worried about getting in trouble at first, but I reasoned that since they were optional and attendance wasn't counted we wouldn't get in trouble. I was right, and with the help of Hinata I began to slowly improve my limited physical ability.

We had to be careful though. If my heart beat too hard or too fast for too long I had this terrible tendency of fainting.

When not working with my friends or dinking off with the chaos causing quartet I worked on my own projects. In other words I went around, got broken appliances and electronics from people and did things with them. Sometimes I fixed them, sometimes I took things apart and made brand new things. I was steadily working my way up to 'mini helicopter' which would eventually become 'surveillance drone'.

All of these activities I reported happily to my mother when I saw here each day.

Then something that had completely blown my mind happened.

Sasuke Uchiha was suddenly all alone in the world.

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><p>No one really knew what happened that night when he finally came to school two weeks after the initial incident. Some gave him wide birth and whispered behind his back. Some didn't seem to know anything about what had happened. The poor boy was crowded with girls, yelling, pushing and screaming to get the coveted chair beside him.<p>

All this I watched from my seat in the back row next to Naruto, a frown on my face. I didn't understand why they were doing something that so clearly made the boy feel uncomfortable. I gathered my papers together and stowed them in one of my folders before, with a quick whisper to Naruto, marched down the aisle.

I was obviously no match for the girls shoving each other in terms of physical ability. Instead I thought it out.

The way our classrooms were set up was simple. There were three rows of desks from front to back, with three desks in each row and three students to a desk. The chairs are not chairs but benches that are attached to and extend approximately sixteen inches forwards.

In the beginning there were more than three to a seat, but as the years progressed the curriculum got more difficult and the less determined or less capable students quite.

There is no getting kicked out of ninja school, if you stay then you stay whether you pass or fail your exams. These exams determine your class ranking and where you'll be placed after graduation. The graduation test is the only one that you required to pass, but if you do exceedingly well on the other tests then you can be put into classes with older children or given the opportunity to graduate early, though it is ill advised to do so unless it's War-Time.

As it was not War-Time and the only geniuses in the class were either lazy or qualified for it in one field we had no official protégés and so were all roughly the same age.

Eight.

And most eight year olds only think of the quickest, to the point way of getting what they want, to go to it directly. Which is what the girls were doing right then. I ignored the tangle of limbs slipping into the row of desks behind the one Sasuke was sitting in, passing by Tobio and sitting down on Shino's desk.

The young bug user looked up at me and I smiled down at him, holding a finger to my lips before swinging my legs around and sliding off of the desk, dropping directly into the seat next to the very, very tense Uchiha.

His head snapped to me along with all of the girls, who stared slack jawed. I didn't even look at them as I placed my folders and books on the table, leaning forwards and starting to work again. I was sure that they would have tried to rip my face off but before they could, luckily for me, Iruka walked in and told everyone to go to their seats, leaving me sitting next to Sasuke, who sat by the wall, and Ino in the seat next to me, glaring daggers.

I was sure I was going to get shit for it later on but I didn't care. Sasuke needed someone to keep those girls off of his back as he tried to sort through his shit, and it was no skin off my bones to do it.

At least, it wasn't yet.

I could feel them staring at me, judging me, wishing for me to combust spontaneously. It made me nervous, their judgment on my back. I was a target.

My heart started beating faster.

I wrote down what was said and drew out plans for my next project, did anything to distract myself but I could still feel them. In my mind I heard whispers.

My pulse quickened further.

Plans and plots were notes that were passed from one person to another, glares that were aimed at me held more ill intent than they actually did.

My heart beat in my temples.

I was panicking for no real reason, only knowing that they were watching me and that they were not happy that I had stolen Sasuke's seat from them. These girls were being trained to kill, many of them were mean, cruel and had no problem in pushing others down to get what they wanted.

In my paranoia blackness touched the edge of my vision.

I lowered my forehead to the desk, my hand now shaking too badly to continue writing and I was no longer able to see the paper.

The world went away and a chunk of chalk struck my head.

* * *

><p>When I came to I had a week of detention chalked up and marker all over my face. Looking around at the girls that were packing up their supplies, chatting with each other and making week end plans I realized I was a fool and that the only reason I was so freaked out was because I had stepped out of my comfort zone and had let my mind run away with me.<p>

It was stupid, and I made a mental note not to let it happen again.

My papers were packed quickly, messily into their folder and I turned to Sasuke, who in turn glanced at me. I could see him trying to figure things out in his head.

"I'm Asuka," I greeted, extending me hand, "Asuka Suzuki. If you need a human shield I'm around," I offered, half smile tilting my lips.

Sasuke hesitated before taking my hand. "Sasuke Uchiha," he returned. He didn't say thanks, but I figured shaking my hand was as good as I was going to get.

"Cool. I've got to get home," I told him pushing myself up and, once again, sitting on the desk so I now faced the back of the room. I raised my hand to Naruto and Choji, as Shikamaru was still asleep. Naruto frowned at me and turned away, crossing his arms over his chest.

I resisted the urge to sigh. Naruto was my best friend and he was now jealous that I had chosen to sit with someone else.

"Children," I muttered in annoyance.

Sasuke snorted. "You are a child."

I looked down at him, smiling and swinging over the desk. "That doesn't make the rest of you any less annoying."

School was about to get more interesting.

* * *

><p>Once everything let out and my training session with Hinata, which was really more my getting my ass handed to me by her, was over it was already late, the sun dipping low on the horizon. I walked out, ignoring the dirty look my supposed teacher was sending me and started the hunt for my lovely blond friend.<p>

Naruto was the first person I had ever been friends with, the third person that I had come to truly care about.

Despite his lacking attention span the boy was a genius in his own right, in terms of setting traps and pulling pranks. He also had the irritating habit of being able to read me like a book. I barely had to say words sometimes to get my point across and he would pick up my train of thought and run with it.

Even when things got sad for me he was always around with a smile and willingness to attack anyone who tried to poke and prod at me for my interests and weaknesses.

In return I stuck by him even when people got to him the most, fed him and forced him to spend the night in times I wasn't sure his house was safe.

My father was rarely home, and my mother had never said anything against my doing so, so everything was fine. If it was possible I would have made him stay all of the time, but it just didn't work out that way.

I cared about him a lot, truth be told I might have been filling the shock of a void that the sudden lack of possible sibling had left me with with him. He'd never complained so I'd never stopped hanging out with him, scolding him lightly or correcting his manners. And he'd never stopped chatting with me, running with me or catching me when my heart tried to give out.

In some ways I loved him. In most ways, in fact. He was the best friend I had. He might as well have been family.

And for that reason I went to the places he frequented, and when he wasn't at the playground, his house or off bothering someone I went to the place I knew he would be.

I went to our place.

Our place was a hallowed out bit in a tree as old as the village, if not older, and could comfortably fit four adults, let alone two little kids. We had found it when exploring the woods near my house, in the older part of the village, mostly reserved for old or high ranking people. We didn't bother them so long as they didn't bother us, staying in the tree behind an old, mostly abandoned house. The only inhabitants seemed to be a bunch of dogs that ran around the walled in yard.

The houses in that area were old and traditional, set inside high stone walls with courtyards and koi ponds, slanting roofs and traditional walls.

All of this we could see from where our tree had been split by a lightning storm years and years ago.

It was in this gap of the somehow-still-alive tree that I found Naruto later that day.

It was not a hard climb, but it was not necessarily easy either. There were no branches that hung low enough for small children to get to, but through experimentation, curiosity and watching older ninja I had figured out how to perform the tree walking exercise.

Note: when your tendons are undeveloped your knees will not support you and your head will hit the tree. Advice? Take a page from a gecko and use hands and feet. Especially when one is eight.

The little blond was sitting the corner, throwing the dulled kunai we found around the village at a target carved into the walls. There was a firm pout on his face.

I knocked on the wood and he looked over suddenly, apparently having not heard me come in.

"Hey," I greeted.

He said nothing, turning away. Which was worrisome. A quiet Naruto is not a good Naruto. I slipped in, walking over and plopping next to him on the wood we had sanded down to smoothness.

"Now you wanna sit with me," he grumbled, and I sighed.

"Lovely, I wasn't abandoning you," I said quietly.

He huffed. "Then why did you sit with Sasuke?" the other boys name was said with distaste dripping from the blonds lips.

"Because he needed a friend and those girl couldn't tell," I tried to explain, "He's all alone now and they don't seem to understand that he needs to not be crowded and fought over or treated like he's the greatest person ever. He doesn't need that and I was just trying to make sure he got some space," I explained, leaning over and using Naruto's shoulder as a pillow.

"But… Sasuke?"

Sasuke, the golden child of the class. The exact opposite of Naruto, who was treated like he was lower than dirt, Sasuke was treated like he was star of the classroom just for being an Uchiha. Where Sasuke was the star of any kind of anything Naruto was constantly beaten or shown up. The blond hated him.

No, he didn't hate him. I don't think Naruto could hate anyone. He was jealous though.

"You know you're my favorite person in the world right?" I asked, shifting so I could look at him. Naruto looked back at me, a dusting of pink on his cheeks at the statement. It always happened whenever I complimented him, and I enjoyed it immensely.

"You might like Sasuke more," he mumbled, sounding self-conscious.

"Nope," I reached up, poking his nose. "Sasuke isn't you, and you are not him, and you are and always will be my favorite."

Naruto held out a pinky. "Promise," he demanded.

I smiled and linked mine with his, shaking them thrice. "Promise," I pulled my hand back and made an x over my chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die, and should I lie I'll stick a needle in my eye."

Naruto laughed and I smiled in response. Before standing.

"Wanna come see my mom?" I asked, looking down. Naruto shrugged and stood up, brushing himself off.

"Sure," he agreed. He always seemed weird whenever my mother was brought up.

We climbed out of the tree, pausing midway when someone walked out of the house with the dogs. I couldn't feel him from where I clung to the tree with chakra warming my palms but that shock of white hair was unmistakable.

I grinned and waved when his head turned up to us. "Hey there static man!" I called.

My only response was a hand raised in return.

I now knew where Kakashi lived, which was pretty great. I could go and bother him now if I wanted to. He was only twenty four and to my knowledge his list of friends was limited to Gai and my father, who was a total flake by that point and might not have ever counted. Meaning that he needed someone to lighten his life a little bit. And I was just the person to do it.

Later.

For right then I had places to go and people to see.

Naruto jumped down after me, landing with a hard sounding 'oof!'. He was still working on the whole chakra thing, something I was trying to work with him, but we always got off track whenever that came up. It wasn't the best thing in the world but he made some progress. _Some_.

We walked out of the old neighborhood and down the road, talking about school, our friends, and the people that had been particularly horrible to Naruto and all of the awful things we could do to them.

I wasn't very creative in terms of coming up with pranks, but I could set them up once I knew what the plan was, and draw out the blue prints for it. The rest I left up to Naruto, the true king of mischief.

Eventually our conversation turned to Sasuke again and I explained to Naruto what had happened. The boy was understandably horrified, unable to comprehend why anyone would do that. I kept my mouth shut about it, feeling very well the weight that knowledge of the future put upon me.

For the most part I was okay with it, focusing on other things and keeping my mind as busy as my hands. It was easy to push thoughts of my future out of the front of my mind, but sometimes things came up and the guilt that my lack of actions to change the future created would come and punch me in the gut.

As we walked the path lead us along the edge of one of the many rivers that cut through the village, the banks running into a steep lift of terrain up to the path we took. The sun shone down, shadows casting long behind us and the sun almost directly in our eyes. It was as we were on this trail that a peer came into view, and upon that peer was perched the exact topic of our conversation.

Naruto and I paused, looking down at Sasuke. He looked back up at us before his frown, now ever-present it seemed, grew and he looked away suddenly, Naruto doing the same. I sighed quietly, for the third time that day at least. These boys were ridiculous and prideful.

I elbowed Naruto and he yelped loudly, drawing Sasuke's attention to us again. I jerked my head at Sasuke pointedly and he shook his head rapidly. I glared. He frowned. I growled. At last he relented and turned to the last Uchiha.

"Hey, teme!" He shouted.

Sasuke scowled. "What do you want, dobe?" he snapped. I saw the aggression spark Naruto's own irritation. Before he could retaliate I jumped in, hand on his forearm.

"Do you want to have dinner with us?" I asked.

Sasuke faltered, looking confused. "What?" he questioned.

"I said, 'do you want to have dinner with us'? Naruto is staying the night and no one else would mind if you did," realizing how it sounded I ducked my head, "I, um, I heard what happened, and I thought maybe you might not want to be alone…"

Machines I knew. Electricity, physics, principals and theory, all of this I could understand. People? People made me nervous. I don't know why, it was never anything that happened before, but it had been getting worse the more I grew up. People scared me, I didn't trust them unless I really knew them, and them I trusted maybe too much.

"Alright," Sasuke muttered, just barely loud enough for me to hear. My head snapped up, surprised before a smile lit my face.

"Cool! We've gotta swing by the hospital real quick though, if you don't mind," I gestured with my hands, "If you want to just meet us at my house you can do that too, the door's probably unlocked."

"I'll come," Sasuke stood up, climbing the bank to join us. I smiled at him and noticed a slightly uncomfortable look on his face.

"I'm not going to jump you," I blurted, startling him, "I don't mean to be mean, but I'm not sure why everyone loves you so much. You're just another guy really."

"Oh?" he looked somewhere between dubious and relieved.

"Yeah," I smiled at him.

"Come on already!" Naruto demanded suddenly and both Sasuke and I rolled our eyes, though mine was more good natured than his. Still we started our trek, Naruto and I talking about nothing important anymore.

The hospital came into view and we all walked in, Naruto and I waving to the woman at the front desk. She sent Naruto and somewhat dirty look but by then we were such a common sight that she no longer questioned us. Sasuke seemed to find it weird but I really didn't mind, leading our trio up the flight of stairs, up to the second floor and down the hallway. Naruto knew the way, and beat both of us to the door, yanking it open.

I slipped in, Sasuke behind me, and took the seat next to the still form in the bed. The heart monitor went off steadily, adding background noise. I heard Sasuke suck in a sharp breath at the sight of my mother.

She lay still, very, very pale. The only movement was in the rise and fall of her chest, her eyes closed and mouth pried open with tubed that kept her alive. She was thin, her bones nearly visible and showing no sign of waking up.

Considering she'd been in a coma for over three years it was unlikely that she would.

I started talking to her then, telling her all about the day, about what was going on now and how I had another friend to add to my collection and how we were all going to stay over at our house. There was no reply as I spoke to her, chattering on for almost an hour while the boys watched on, Naruto throwing in comments now and again while Sasuke seemed to try to figure out what was going on.

The poor boy seemed utterly confused.

I felt only a small amount of sympathy as I made my report to my mother, finally letting up after an hour. Once I was done talking to my mom I led the boys back to my house, letting Sasuke digest what he had just witnessed on the way. Once there I showed him where the spare key was in case he needed to get in at any time and brought them inside.

My father was nowhere to be found, as per usual. Ever since my mother fell into her coma he had… broke. I hadn't seen him for more than five minutes in the last three years. I had grown used to it by that point, and Naruto knew everything really, so by then there was no problem.

I made the boys eat a good dinner, almost force feeding Naruto his vegetables. Sasuke was more cooperative than him, thankfully, as I didn't think I had the energy for stuffing greens down the throat of two stubborn boys.

As dinner wound by there were passive aggressive jibs the boys sent to each other. I let them have at each other, knowing that Naruto wouldn't push things too hard. He wasn't a fan of Sasuke but he was far from mean.

When everyone was done eating I made the boys clean everything up. They did so without too much abjection, but Naruto did whine a lot. The brat.

While they were doing that I was pulling out the fold out couch, dressing it with sheets, pillows and an afghan.

"Sasuke!" I called, watching him poke his head out of the kitchen, soap bubbles in his hair.

I didn't ask.

"Are you gonna stay the night?" I questioned, holding up a third pillow.

The boy shook his head in denial, sending bits of foam flying. "No. I have to get ho-" he stopped, and I watched his expression fall into such a sad, depressed state that I felt my heart squeeze inside my chest. Had we given him such a good distraction that he had been able to forget, however briefly, that he was alone.

"Stay," we both looked over, surprised to see Naruto there, covered in soap bubbles, "She said there's room, and you still owe me a rematch," he grinned mischievously, holding up a hand full of foam.

For a second Sasuke looked confused before the barest lessening of sadness crossed his face and he nodded.

I just smiled and stretched the afghan out, happy to have my boys there with me. I would never say so out loud, but it got very lonely in that house sometimes.

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><p><em>Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend. - Albert Camus<em>


	7. Crazy

**Next Chapter, hooray! **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I appreciate it!**

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><p>The girl was crazy, one Kaneki Ichiru decided as he stared at the children in the front lawn across the street. The house wasn't old but it was in a poor state, the grass around it overgrown and wild and the once tamed, well shaped rose bushes now climbing up the walls. The little girl that lived in the house with the chipped white paint was small, frail, and utterly insane.<p>

As he watched she took apart and reassembled a set of leave blowers and fans that had been accumulated throughout the week when she wasn't as school. He had no idea what she was doing, only that she probably shouldn't have had that hack saw. Or the blow torch.

Unfortunately the sixty year old wasn't allowed to interfere now that she was going to the ninja school, taking after her _father_. The irresponsible man that was never around to keep his daughter from cutting her fingers off or lighting her hair on fire and wouldn't let the girl's poor mother die already. Instead he left an eight year old at home, alone except for the little demon brat and the Uchiha boy.

Who were now arriving with, of all things, a wheelchair!

The boys brought it along the sidewalk, pushing from behind and Kaneki's lips formed a frown. He didn't like the looks of this. He _really_ didn't like it when the girl started strapping the what-ever-that-hell-that-was to the back of the wheel chair with ropes, bungee cords, and what appeared to be duct tape, nearly covering the entire surface of the chair.

If they weren't ninja in training then he would have called the police, but they were not only mostly dead but also entirely uninterested in children these days. It irritated Kaneki to no end.

The old man watched from his front window as the girl pushed the boys into the seat of the wheel chair, climbing up and using the two boys to sit herself on in a disgraceful amount of casual contact. Kaneki squinted as she brought up a tangle of wires attached to a light switch, watching her flip it.

Immediately the newly created attachment roared to a clunky, angrily smoking life and the whole chair shook, causing the boys to latch onto the armrests and yelp. The Suzuki girl didn't seem to notice, instead grinning like a maniac when the fans started to spin and a fire lit behind them, sending the contraption shooting forwards at speeds a wheel chair was most definitely _not_ supposed to go. Kaneki watched in shock as the children flew down the sidewalk and out of sight in seconds, somehow managing to careen around the corner without crashing into anything. It disappeared around the Kaneko house, three children pressed against the back, one laughing and two screaming.

_Yes_, he decided when a plume of smoke rose from the other side of the block, _the girl was absolutely crazy._

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><p><em>All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. - Ralph Waldo Emerson<em>


	8. Happy Birthday Asuka!

**Chapter 7. **

**Where's the mayo: I would too, I love the idea of her building all of these things and dragging the boys with her when she tests them out. Good thing Naruto has that healing factor! **

**CuteMochi00: I thought it did too, I would love to do something like that. Thank you so much, I'm glad that you like them. **

**As for the length I don't plan it at all. The shortest one for this story is 258 words and the longest is 4,601. I don't plan them out, I just sorta go with the flow. **

**Izzyrawr: I'm glad you enjoyed it, sorry there's only a few chapters sight now. I'll try and update often and hopefully this chapter makes up for how short the last one was!**

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><p>"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Asuka… Happy Birthday to you!"<p>

I laughed as I sat at the table, eyes on the disaster of a cake that my friends had baked. I was now officially ten, and the boys had been all but living with me for the last year and a half, and this was the first year we had celebrated my birthday. I always celebrated theirs, though Sasuke's had only come around once so far. Honestly last year I had forgotten it even existed.

My father had too.

This year however I had all of my friends with me; Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji and Hinata had all come to attend my birthday party, gathered around my kitchen table and singing horribly off tune in the way that children do. I just sat there, grinning like mad while they did. I was excited. This was the first party I'd had in a long time and almost all of my favorite people were there.

We were gathered around my kitchen table on chairs and stools, everyone watching me as I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and blew out the candles.

_I wish to stay with my friends forever. _

When I opened my eyes I was met with half a dozen smiling faces, all aimed at me. I hadn't had many friends last time, and with my parents absent these kids were my family. They were the most important things. I had decided to be a ninja out of selfishness and the desire to live. Now I wanted to graduate, to become a ninja and stay with the people I cared about. And that made my heart all the more terrifying.

"What did you wish for?" Naruto asked, bouncing in his seat.

I shook my head. "If I tell then it won't come true!"

"Aw come on," Kiba whined, Akamaru joining him. I remained firm, looking away.

"Nope!"

"Can we have the cake now?" Choji asked, changing the subject.

I looked down at the cake, which was lopsided and only partially frosted, then at Naruto and Sasuke, who had nearly destroyed my kitchen in their attempt to make it. It still only looked half baked, but it was the thought that counted.

"Yeah," I agreed, "We can do cake, and then open presents." I took the knife that lay on the table, pushing it into the cake and cutting it into eight equal pieces, passing them out to my friends and leaving only one slice left on the plate.

I looked down at it, tentatively cutting away a corner with my fork and raising it to my mouth. An egg shell broke in my mouth and I winced, realizing that I was right. It was half baked. Somehow it managed to taste both salty and overly sugared at the same time, the chocolate that was supposed to flavor it seeming more like raw cocoa powder.

Kiba gagged on the side of the table, Shikamaru pushed his plate away and Hinata lowered her fork, swallowing thickly. Even Choji looked a little green around the gills.

"It's not that bad," Naruto tried to defend. Until he actually took his bite. He choked, spitting it out and Sasuke didn't even try.

"I think next time you should just buy it," I muttered, scooting away from the 'cake'. There were even chunks of soggy flower in it. I had no idea it was possible to mess up something that bad.

"Okay… all in favor of shoving this monstrosity down Naruto and Sasuke's shirts say 'aye'!" I called. Kiba called his agreement, Akamaru seconding the opinion. Shikamaru didn't say anything, just threw the 'cake' into Naruto's face. Choji, who _never_ wasted food, dumped both his and Hinata's on top of Sasuke's head and I stuffed mine down the back of Naruto's shirt, then did the same with the last piece and the front of Sasuke's. Neither one had time to run before they were covered in their failure, literally.

After that, true to my word, I opened the present that my friends had brought.

I ended up opening Naruto's first, tearing away the orange paper and pulling the lid and laughing when I dodged spring loaded snakes aimed at my face. Underneath the gag I found a real present, which gave me room for pause. There, sitting at the bottom of the box, was a pair of goggles.

I pulled the goggles out, finding them not swimming goggles but working ones, the exact kind I had actually been needing, hanging from a sturdy, green strap. I brushed back the singed edges of my hair and let them drop around my neck, my head too small for them just yet.

I grinned widely at my best friend, dragging him into a hug as I thanked him sincerely. He turned pink and laughed it off.

"It's no big deal," he dismissed, and I rolled my eyes and sat back.

The next present was pushed towards me and I took it, finding it somewhat chewed on and wet.

"That ones from Akamaru." I looked up at Kiba, brows furrowing. The puppy looked very proud of himself so I assumed it couldn't be too bad. I hoped.

I opened the box, which was very heavy and somewhat damp, growing more and more worried as a strange smell hit me. I peered inside and paled.

_Oh my god. _

"It's… a bunny." I murmured, lifting it out of the box. "A dead one."

In my hand was the limp form of a tiny rabbit, clearly a baby. I looked at it, then at Akamaru, who was sitting on the table with his tail wagging. I smiled tensely and thanked him, secretly weirded out. I knew animals gave dead prey as gifts but I had never expected to get one. Ever. It was still and small in my hand, and utterly awful. But Akamaru was proud, so I didn't say anything.

Kiba's gift, in slightly better condition, was thrust under my nose then too. "Open this one now!" he demanded, and I took it from him wearily.

Unwrapping it I pulled the box apart, finding inside something less gross than the dead bunny now sitting at my feet.

I had to smile. It was paper mache, though what it was supposed to be I wasn't entirely sure. It was painted in browns and greys, and if I was being honest it looked like shit with white stripes. I looked from it to him, trying not to give away my confusion.

Kiba looked sheepish. "It's supposed to be a dog…"

"It's… interesting?" I offered, setting it on the table. "Thanks Kiba, it was a good effort," I told him, snickering a little bit.

Kiba groaned. "Hana said I should have gotten you a bracelet," he grumbled, flopping his head on the table. I patted him like a dog.

Shikamaru shoved a bag at me and I caught it, noting the half assed attempt at looking pretty.

"Your mom watched you put it together didn't she?" I asked wryly. Shikamaru nodded, muttering about how troublesome it had been to get me something.

I pulled the paper out, finding a puzzle box and a mini set of wire cutters, strippers and a small roll of insulated tape. I pulled them all out, setting them on the table one by one before I found something else at the bottom.

Out came the last item, a bracelet that was shaped like a wrapped around wrench. I smiled at him.

"That was surprisingly thoughtful."

Shikamaru's eyes rolled. "I was just going to get you the puzzle. Mom made me do more."

I snickered quietly and leaned forwards to take the box that Choji pushed my way.

"I didn't really know what to get you," he admitted sheepishly.

I shook my head. "You didn't have to get me anything so whatever it is'll be great," I was sure.

I pulled the paper away from the neatly wrapped box, unfolding the flap and peaking in. I smile and pulled out the spinning spice rack, filled with spices. I could definitely use that. Attached to the top was a butterfly charmed necklace on a thin silver string.

I pulled it off, looking at it closely. "It's pretty," I commented, "You're so sweet Choji."

The boy turned light pink under my praise and looked down. "I asked my mom what she thought," he tried to dismiss, but I didn't let him.

"It was sweet," I insisted, and the boy didn't object further.

Hinate's gift was next, set in a small white box without paper. I took it from her, pulling the lid off. Inside lay a pair of sturdy, black leather gloves. When I looked up at her she was looking down.

"For your hands," she managed, drawing my attention right there.

At ten years old my hands were calloused and scarred thanks to the work I did. Cuts from wires and knifes, burns from fire and electricity combined with callouses brought on by my practice with ninja weapons had them far from smooth and covered in scars, criss-crossing the thin digits.

"Thank you," I hugged the girl, startling her into turning bright red. She was so cute. Adorable child. Absolutely adorable.

All eyes turned to Sasuke who stared back at everyone.

"What?" he asked, sitting back, "I made the cake."

We stared at him before Naruto broke the silence, giving a shout.

"Sasuke you jerk! You can't go to someone's party and not give them anything!"

Sasuke bristled immediately. "I gave her a cake!"

"That's difr'nt!"

"Is not!"

"Is so!"

"Is not!"

"Is so!"

"Is not!"

"Is so!"

"Is not!"

"It doesn't matter you lame brains!" I shouted above the argument. It did not good as it had already dissolved into a fist fight, one that Naruto was losing badly. I brought my new goggles up over my eyes and dove into the fray.

Somehow we managed to drag Kiba in with us while Choji, Shikamaru and Hinata watched on.

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><p>For my birthday Sasuke gave me a toxic cake and split lip.<p>

I didn't care, by the time all was said and done everyone was sleeping over, camped out in one of the only three parts of my house not covered in my projects, the living room. By then it might as well have been Sasuke and Naruto's bedroom.

My friends crashed around the room, Naruto and Sasuke had curled together on one end of the couch, both sporting black eyes. Choji lay back on the opposite end, Shikamaru leaning against him as pillow, completely hidden under the fleece I had tossed over them. Hinata had taken up the only solo chair, snuggled under a cotton blanket. I was in the middle of the couch with Kiba, leaning against him as he leaned against me, Akamaru curled up between us.

I watched my companions, people I had grown to love beyond character infatuation and into true friends, true family, moon light streaming through the thin curtains. The light lit their faces softly and I smiled to myself, snuggling under the afghan with Kiba and allowing my eyes to close.

This life was pretty good.


End file.
